Malala loses Peace Nobel to chemical weapons watchdog
12 Oct 2013 1:25 AM GMT
The Hague-based autonomous body, which works within the framework of the United Nations, was established in 1997 by the Chemical Weapons Commission to carry out its mandate. It has been at the centre of the Syrian theatre of war, carrying out its mandate to dismantle the chemical weapon stockpiles of Syria. It has gained credibility for its role in enforcing the peace option in Syria through its technical expertise, but no less for the courage of its team that is working in a dangerous war zone with quiet and dogged determination.
‘Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons,’ the Nobel Committee statement notes. ‘Some states are still not members of the OPCW. Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the USA and Russia.’
The Nobel Committee said that by conferring the award on the OPCW it was upholding Alfred Nobel’s vision of disarmament.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban said on Friday that they were ‘delighted’ Malala Yousafzai, the teenage education activist they tried to kill, missed out on the Nobel peace prize. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shot Malala in the head on her school bus on 9 October last year for speaking out against them.
Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the media the 16-year-old had ‘done nothing to deserve the Nobel’, but he said nothing about OPCW’s winning the award for its work to rid the world of chemical arms.
After the shooting she was flown to Britain for specialist care and made a remarkable recovery, going on to become a global ambassador for children’s rights.
Malala won the European Parliament’s Sakharov rights prize on Thursday, which the TTP condemned in similar terms, claiming ‘her struggle against Islam’ was the reason the west was
honouring her.
‘Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons,’ the Nobel Committee statement notes. ‘Some states are still not members of the OPCW. Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the USA and Russia.’
The Nobel Committee said that by conferring the award on the OPCW it was upholding Alfred Nobel’s vision of disarmament.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban said on Friday that they were ‘delighted’ Malala Yousafzai, the teenage education activist they tried to kill, missed out on the Nobel peace prize. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shot Malala in the head on her school bus on 9 October last year for speaking out against them.
Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the media the 16-year-old had ‘done nothing to deserve the Nobel’, but he said nothing about OPCW’s winning the award for its work to rid the world of chemical arms.
After the shooting she was flown to Britain for specialist care and made a remarkable recovery, going on to become a global ambassador for children’s rights.
Malala won the European Parliament’s Sakharov rights prize on Thursday, which the TTP condemned in similar terms, claiming ‘her struggle against Islam’ was the reason the west was
honouring her.
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